UK publisher Team17 and China-based independent developer Pathea Games have today launched their charming sandbox simulation RPG, My Time At Portia, into Steam Early Access. But if you're not a Steam gamer, then the good news is that it will be coming to the Switch eShop later this year also.

In this game you arrive in the enchanting town of Portia, and you get to set up shop in a derelict workshop left to you by your Pa. It’s down to you to gather resources and put his trusty old workshop handbook and workbench to good use, as you craft your home back to shape and make it your own. Then convert the empty woodland around your new residence into a quaint little farm, where you can grow your own crops using clever planter boxes and cultivation techniques.

As well as developing your own workshop, you’ll be able to take on daily commissions and villager requests which enable you to craft your way into the hearts of the local community. The town of Portia is filled with a vibrant cast of unforgettable faces all with exciting stories to share, energetic personalities and individual behaviours. Make sure you take the time to get to know them all - who knows, maybe romance could be in the air.

On the outskirts of town, you’ll discover ancient ruins and dungeons to explore. Here you can mine for resources and face fearsome monsters and bosses that stand between you and the secrets of Portia.

Watch the trailer above and let us know if you plan to pick this up later this year with a comment below.

Darren is Nintendo Life’s Batman: fearless in the face of danger, he loves gadgets and talking in a really, really deep voice. As Operations Director he stays mostly behind the scenes in a room he insists on calling “The Batcave”.

I usually enjoy this sort of game so I'll keep an eye on it and if it's any good I'll consider giving it a go. If I'm being honest though, it doesn't initially scream out as something I need to play based on the trailer (like Fantasy Life did for example). A solid maybe at this stage.

It looks very ambitious for an indie game, but who knows, maybe something really good comes out from this. I´d rather get a new Fantasy Life, as I love the first one, but this looks pretty interesting too so far. I might give it a go if it reviews well.

As long as there is some sort of sense of direction in the game, it could be a lot of fun. But judging from how poorly third-party indie games are compressed, I imagine this is going to take up a big chunk of my microSD card. I might give it a shot if it gets a physical release, but otherwise, I think I’ll pass.

Reminds me of SimAnimals on Wii. (yes I played it and own it). These aren't really my type of games, but even still this one looks a little slow and empty. It's so slow and empty when all the people showed up I thought it might be like WoW or Free Realms, a proper online multiplayer game. Switch could use one of those.

Seems like there have been a lot of these "wander around and don't do much" games coming to Switch lately that have a Windwaker vibe. Oceanhorn, Portal Knights, Rime, Yonder:The Cloud Catcher Chronicles. This one seems the least interesting of them all to me. I suppose that's the point though with these types of games, relaxation.

I do like the look, even if it's a bit Wii, but I guess I just want a little more, like DQ Builders.

There arn't enough proper sandbox games. Too many games call themselves sandbox but still want a linear narrative that often time locks away parts of the game and such, bleh. Hopefully this turns out good.

@PhilKenSebben Working guy and father of two kids here. Sleep mode and setting modest goals for each brief play session is the way to go. Sleep mode is your friend . Breath of the Wild took me months and I loved every second with it (never played long enough to burn out on any one thing). So arguably this not only works for busy dads but it also adds value to game purchases.

@rjejr This could be a bit more like Stardew Valley maybe? But I felt the same way you did about the trailer. Nothing to charm or intrigue me.

My family enjoyed the DQ builders demo. It was a little too extreme in the hand holding for us Minecraft players, and the placement was a little wonky because of third person, but adding goals and a bit more direction to the Minecraft formula worked great.

@Alcovitch oh, you don't need to convince me. I already own the game on three different platforms including the switch. However, I'd like to see NL get on the train and give it more exposure to first timers. Heck, most other Switch releases are ports anyway.

@aaronsullivan We played the DQB demo way back when on PS4. I keep thinking we own the game b/c I bought my kid DQH and I keep getting them confused. 😛 If you get the game from what I read it's a little weird b/c twice in the game you move to a new area and basically start the game over. I read it was good otherwise.

This one not doing it for me earlier today doesn't mean much, nothing game wise is doing it for me lately. I just played the Zelda DLC for an hour and I've had it. I can find the spots on the map but nothing happens. Waste of $20, too much challenge, not enough ballad. 😠

I cant wait for this! I hope there is a physical release tho, lately ive been getting paranoid with buying digital. Im getting currupted software/error codes left and right all the sudden, even on internel memory, soo i think something is wrong with my switch. Ive never gotten errors with the physical cartridges tho. Im going to send it in for repairs or maybe a total replacement eventually, untill this is fixed, i want to play it safe and go physical, that seems to be ok